Bolton aides depart the National Security Council

Meanwhile, fallout continues from Trump’s abrupt firing of his national security adviser, John Bolton. (Or did he resign? More on that later.)

At least two of Bolton’s closest aides at the National Security Council have announced they will also leave their roles.

Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins)

One day after John Bolton was ousted from his role as national security adviser, two of his closest allies on the National Security Council, Sarah Tinsley and Garrett Marquis, have both left their roles, I'm told.

Trump’s acting chief of staff said yesterday there would not be mass firings at the agency in light of Bolton’s departure, but the former national security adviser’s allies likely see little reason to stick around.

2020 Democrats share 9/11 memories

Several Democratic presidential candidates have shared statements and remembrances in honor of the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“I was a sophomore in college when the planes hit. My roommates and I sat transfixed on a futon, glued to the horror unfolding on NBC’s Today Show,” wrotePete Buttigieg, a veteran who served in Afghanistan.

“Years later, I would find myself carrying an M-4 in Kabul, Afghanistan — the country that had hosted the men who had conceived and implemented unimaginable attacks against other human beings. But in that moment I just sat there, stunned.”

Several other Democratic candidates expressed their gratitude for the first responders and remembered the attacks’ victims.

Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren)

Today, I’m thinking about the lives we lost on September 11th and the courage of the first responders, service members, and citizens who risked their lives that day and in the aftermath of that tragedy. We will always remember them.

We will always remember the lives we lost on 9/11, the first responders who ran towards danger to save others, and those who gave their lives to keep our nation safe. Even amidst one of our darkest moments, our country came together to show the world we won’t be shaken by fear.

I was in New York on 9-11 - I remember walking uptown in the crowd trying to call loved ones. Friends and patriots died. Families lost mothers and fathers. It changed us forever. We are still healing. We will never forget. 🙏🇺🇸

A New York Times reporter who previously covered the rebuilding of the World Trade Center said back in July, when the president claimed he spent “a lot of time” at Ground Zero, that she recalled only one instance of Trump visiting the site.

Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT)

So, I covered rebuilding at the WTC for three years after covering the immediate aftermath of the attacks for NYPost. Giuliani was a frequent presence w families, as was Pataki. I recall one instance where Trump was at the site. https://t.co/7Ish98CX1g

She also drew a distinction between Trump and the first responders who came to the aid of the attacks’ victims:

Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT)

Being down there surveying the damage is also not the same as standing on that pile of debris, as first responders who got sick did, day after day. I have no memory of Trump talking about first responders or victims' relatives; if it happened, I hope someone can show when it was https://t.co/KMmatufWPW

Trump repeats dubious claim about visiting Ground Zero

While speaking at the Pentagon’s 9/11 memorial ceremony, the presidentalso repeated his dubious claim that he went down to Ground Zero shortly after the attacks.

Trump recounted how he was watching CNBC when the first plane struck the World Trade Center.

“I was looking out of a window from a building in midtown Manhattan directly at the World Trade Center when I saw the second plane at a tremendous speed go into the second tower,” Trump said. “It was then that I realized the world was going to change.”

He continued: “Soon after I went down to Ground Zero with men who worked for me to try to help in any little way that we could. We were not alone.”

Trump similarly said back in July, while signing a bill to fund the medical care of 9/11 first responders, that he spent “a lot of time” at Ground Zero. But Richard Alles, a retired deputy chief with the New York Fire Department, cast doubt on that.

“I spent many months there myself, and I never witnessed him,” Alles told the New York Times in July. “He was a private citizen at the time. I don’t know what kind of role he could have possibly played.”

Here is Trump’s fullquote on the canceled Taliban peace talks while speaking at the Pentagon’s 9/11 memorial ceremony:

“We had peace talks scheduled a few days ago. I called them off when I learned that they had killed a great American soldier from Puerto Rico and 11 other innocent people. They thought they would use this attack to show strength, but actually what they showed is unrelenting weakness. The last four days, we have hit our enemy harder than they have ever been hit before. And that will continue.

“And if for any reason, they come back to our country, we will go wherever they are, and use power, the likes of which the United States has never used before. And I’m not even talking about nuclear power. They will never have seen anything like what will happen to them. No enemy on earth can match the overwhelming strength skill and might of the American armed forces.”

The president has just finished speaking at the Pentagon’s memorial ceremony for the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

It’s safe to say he likely went off the teleprompter a bit. Most notably, Trump invoked his scrapped plans to hold peace talks with the Taliban at Camp David.

“We had peace talks scheduled a few days ago,” Trump told the crowd assembled at one of the sites of the attacks that collectively killed thousands. “I called them off when I learned that they had killed a great American soldier from Puerto Rico and 11 other innocent people ... The last four days we have hit our enemy harder than they have ever been hit before.”

One reporter described the audience’s response as “polite.”

David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura)

He tried to turn it into a show if his own strength, threatening to hit the enemy harder than ever before. The applause from families and military officials at the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon could be described as polite. https://t.co/kNKm5200ea

Joe Biden released a statement in honor of the 9/11 anniversary, saying the event “has become synonymous with America’s iron will to never bend, never break in the face of terror.”

Joe Biden (@JoeBiden)

Each 9/11, we remember that resilience and courage live in the hearts of all Americans—especially our brave first responders. 18 years later, we reaffirm that Americans will never bend to terrorism, and we will never forget those we lost.

“It’s also become a reminder of who we are as a nation and what Americans are capable of when we come together, united in shared purpose,” said the Democratic presidential candidate, who was in the Senate when the attacks occurred.

Biden concluded: “This year, on 9/11, we once more honor the memories of those Americans whose lives were too cruelly cut short, and we renew our commitment to upholding the best of what it means to be an American—and to all that sets the United States apart.”

More on that Washington Post/ABC News poll: Joe Biden has the largest lead over Trump in a hypothetical match-up, besting the president by 15 points.

Bernie Sanders holds a 9-point lead over Trump, and Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris both have 7-point leads. Pete Buttigieg has a more narrow lead over Trump that falls within the poll’s margin of error.

So overall, the poll is good news for Democrats. But pollsters and strategists are historically skeptical of general election polls this far out from Election Day.

Adam Jentleson 🎈🐢 (@AJentleson)

In the summer of 2015, Hillary Clinton led Trump by *25* points and the rest of the GOP field by 10-15 points. As late as Feb 2004, Kerry led Bush by 12 points. It’s neither smart nor savvy to base your vote on general election polls a year out. Judge electability with your eyes. pic.twitter.com/DYbWWujS3d

Trump criticizes poll showing him losing to Democratic front-runners

The Fed isn’t the only thing irking the president this morning. More results have been released from the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, and they show Trump trailing Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris in hypothetical general election match-ups.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

....This is a phony suppression poll, meant to build up their Democrat partners. I haven’t even started campaigning yet, and am constantly fighting Fake News like Russia, Russia, Russia. Look at North Carolina last night. Dan Bishop, down big in the Polls, WINS. Easier than 2016!

This two-part tweet thread continues several falsehoods, not to mention the derogatory nickname he throws in for Warren, so let’s take them one at a time.

First of all, as the blog covered yesterday, the Washington Post/ABC News poll is well regarded. It has an A+ rating from the polling and analysis website FiveThirtyEight.

Second of all, the outlets’ final poll before the general election in 2016 showed that Hillary Clinton would beat Trump nationally by 4 points. That was very close to the actual result, where Clinton defeated Trump in the popular vote by 2 points. (She obviously lost the Electoral College and the presidency along with it.)

Third, there is no evidence that pollsters are skewing their results in an attempt to undermine Trump.

Fourth, Trump has been campaigning since he took office. He has held campaign rallies consistently since his inauguration.

Fifth, Russia’s 2016 election interference is very much confirmed and is not at all “fake news.”

Sixth, Trump has egregiously exaggerated how much Dan Bishop, the Republican who won last night’s special congressional race in North Carolina, was down in the polls.

Trump slams Fed leaders as 'Boneheads'

Good morning, live blog readers — I hope you all take a moment today to remember the 2,997 people lost 18 years ago.

Our president’s focus seems to be drifting toward other topics this morning. While simultaneous celebrating his party’s narrow victory last night in a North Carolina special congressional race, Donald Trump is lashing out against the leaders of the Federal Reserve as “Boneheads.”

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

....The USA should always be paying the the lowest rate. No Inflation! It is only the naïveté of Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve that doesn’t allow us to do what other countries are already doing. A once in a lifetime opportunity that we are missing because of “Boneheads.”

The central bank is expected to once again lower interest rates next week after doing so for the first time in a decade during its July meeting.

But that doesn’t seem to be appeasing Trump, who has previously complained that the Fed’s chairman, Jerome Powell, supposedly raised interest rates too fast and then lowered them too slowly.

This is very well-trodden territory for Trump. He has repeatedly lashed out against Powell to blame the chairman for the slowing US economy, even though the president’s trade war has done far more damage in that arena.

But this poll released yesterday, showing a majority of Americans expect a recession in the next year, is almost certainly on the president’s mind, too. Trump is counting on a strong economy to win re-election. If he doesn’t have it, he’ll at least need a bogeyman to blame for the slump. Why not the Fed chairman?